Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi started their campaign trail in Bihar on Friday. Both leaders attended rallies in the State ahead of the three-phase Assembly polls scheduled to begin on October 28.
Starting his speech by paying rich tributes to veteran politicians and former Cabinet ministers from Bihar, Ramvilas Paswan and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Modi said the State has done exemplary well in fighting Covid-19 pandemic.
‘People know better’
He said the Nitish Kumar government has done well to ensure that the pandemic did not spread in a dangerous manner.
He said people have noticed the good work of the NDA and they will not allow those who made Bihar “a Bimaru State” come back to power. He claimed that all the opinion surveys have predicted that NDA will retain power in the State.
‘Batting for middlemen’
Taking on the Opposition, he said their propaganda over the three farm Bills is to help middlemen. “Markets and MSP are just a cover-up. Their real intention is to save middlemen,” Modi said and added that whenever middlemen are in crisis, Opposition will stand up for them.
He questioned the patriotism of his opponents. “They are saying they will restore Article 370 if they come to power. Look at their audacity, they are still daring to seek votes from the people of Bihar. Isn’t this an insult to the sentiments of Bihar which sends its sons and daughters to borders to protect the country?” he asked.
Modi lied, says Rahul
Rahul Gandhi took up the martyrdom of soldiers from Bihar in Ladakh in his speech and asked Modi to avenge their deaths. “Chinese Army is well within the Indian borders. The question is why the Prime Minister demeaned the martyrdom of our soldiers and said no one has entered our territories. Modi now says that he bows before their martyrdom. But he lied to the people of this country,” Gandhi said.
The Wayanad MP attacked the Centre over economy and unemployment. He said the NDA promised two crore jobs per year and now the unemployment rate is high and no one got a job.
Farm bills and economy
He criticised the three farm Bills and said they will destabilise farming in Bihar too.
He said the economic growth dwindled because of steps such as demonetisation and an unplanned GST. He said under Tejaswi Yadav’s leadership, the new government will address such issues. Yadav, who was in one of the rallies, said social security pensions will be increased and unemployment will be controlled if the RJD alliance comes back to power.
